Chapter 2 Standing Silence

　　The little boy was unsuspectingly dragged from the litter, and the remaining half loaf of bread was not spared, and at this moment was delivered to the strongest of the older children. These older children were all over ten years old, and the one in the lead was twelve. 　　The big kid in the lead inhaled deeply the aroma of the bread, and without hesitation grabbed a large piece and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it in one bite, watching the big kids next to him gulp furiously. 　　A mouthful of bread didn't calm the anger of the big kid, but instead made him red-eyed: ''How dare you hide food! There is still half a piece? Where did you hide it? Won't say? Give me a beating!!!" 　　The little boy was kicked to the ground on the spot, a group of big kids surrounded him and punched and kicked him, every blow was with full force, the little boy was like a rag pocket being beaten and rolled around. 　　Panic showed on the little girl's face and she quietly moved back two steps. She knew that if the boy told her that he had given her the other half of the loaf of bread, she would probably be killed on the spot. 　　But the little boy's mouth was sealed as if with iron juice, and he did not say a word, not even a moan, and endured the beating in silence. 　　Finally the older children got tired of beating and slowly stopped. They also searched the little boy's litter, and again found nothing. 　　"Looks like he ate the half piece!" One of the older kids said cynically. 　　"Cut open his stomach! Might even find it!" Another big, skinny, dark kid hollered menacingly. 　　The big kid in charge kicked the little boy hard and droned, "Where did the other half go? If you ate it, then go to hell!" 　　The little girl's face instantly turned pale. 　　But contrary to what she thought, the little boy didn't speak, but struggled to stand up. 　　The little boy's mouth moved as if he was saying something, but no one could hear him clearly. The older child couldn't help but move closer to the little boy, wanting to hear what he was saying. 　　The little boy's right fist suddenly flew up and slammed the big kid hard in the face! 　　The big kid let out a scream and violently covered his face, staggering backward. His face was drenched in blood, and the little boy had quietly grabbed a piece of metal as he rolled from the beating, when the sharp edges protruded from his fingers and viciously sliced open the big kid's face. 　　"Fight! Beat him to death!" The injured older child covered his face and screamed like a madman. 　　The younger boy fought to the death to meet him, only to be knocked down again in the blink of an eye. He gritted his teeth and clumped his body to protect his vitals, neither begging for mercy nor moaning. 　　The older boys were tired of fighting again, and their hands slowed down. The injured big kid, however, was not willing to do so, and lifted the little boy from the ground, and was about to say something, when the little boy, not knowing where he got the strength from, suddenly leaped up and slammed his head into the big kid's injured face! 　　The big kid's nose collapsed instantly. 　　He covered his face and screamed miserably, and the rest of the big kids looked at the little boy and actually felt some fear from the bottom of their hearts. With an injury like that, they thought to themselves that they wouldn't be able to hold up, and they didn't know what kind of strength supported the little boy to stand and stand in front of them! 　　This time without being told, the older children swarmed up and knocked the little boy down again, and gave him another beating. When they were tired, the little boy moved and actually staggered back to his feet. 　　This is an incomparably stubborn child, is to die, but also to die standing. 　　"Kill ...... kill him!" An older child suggested, his voice was a little trembling. If he didn't kill the little boy, he felt that he wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully in the future. 　　No one seconded his proposal, but the little boy was knocked down again. This time the older children were a lot lighter, they were instinctively scared and at the same time really tired. They had very little to offer today, and their stamina was limited, so if it wasn't for the mania brought on by the Crimson Moon wanting to be vented, perhaps they would have grabbed the bread and sailed away. 　　Just as the older children, who were fighting with sore backs and legs, stopped, a small figure suddenly appeared beside them. 　　It was the little girl, straining to carry a stone that was quite huge for her, and squeezing her way up. 　　The older children looked at her in amazement, and with determination and madness on that beautiful little face, she shook and lifted the rock high above her head, then brought it down hard on the little boy's head! 　　With a thud, the little boy finally stopped moving, a puddle of blood appeared under his head and then rapidly expanded. 　　There was a sound of cold air being sucked in around them, and the older kids actually subconsciously moved two steps away from the little girl who could have been knocked down with a single kick. 　　The little girl ran to the stone that had rolled to the side again and strained to hold it. The stone was already stained with blood, and the blood stains rubbed onto the little girl's body and face. Even the head of the big kids got chills as the tiny figure hobbled toward the little boy. 　　Just then, a breeze suddenly swept through the junkyard, picking up some scraps of paper. The already rather cool night became unusually cold, and all those who were still rummaging for food in the dump suddenly shivered. 　　They did not realize that an invisible force field had quietly covered the entire dump. 　　The vast majority of the people were bewildered and immediately started rummaging through the garbage again after the brief chill passed. A few felt as if something inside their bodies jumped a few times, but this feeling was as faint as an illusion, and the jumping sensation soon disappeared, so they didn't think anything of it, and continued to look for food for today's survival. 　　On the other hand, very few people stayed where they were, staring at their hands in dismay. Their hands had begun to emit a faint glow at some point, appearing particularly eye-catching under the night. Not only their hands, but even their entire person was glowing, while a mysterious new power appeared within their body. 　　If one looked down from high in the sky, one could see many points of light shining on the vast airship graveyard, as if a river of stars had fallen to earth. 　　The little girl's body similarly emitted light, and her strength was suddenly much greater. The sudden abnormality didn't affect the little girl's actions, instead she sped up a few steps and walked over to the little boy, slamming the stone towards his head with all her might! 　　All of the older children were waiting for the moment when the little boy was bloodied, some of them felt uncomfortable, and their gazes were tilted to the side, subconsciously unwilling to look any further. 　　Just then, the little boy's body suddenly also bloomed with a bright light, and even a red pillar of light appeared, rising straight up to a dozen meters into the air, appearing incomparably eye-catching in the night! Around the pillar of light, there were also several halos that appeared, moving along arcane trajectories. 　　Heavy stones smashed on the light, as if blocked by an invisible force, rebounded out. This mutation shocked all the big kids, and some jumped up, but were bewildered. 　　In the night sky, the lower half of the huge scarlet round moon, a pontoon boat tens of meters long was gliding through the air. 　　It was made to look like an old-fashioned light boat, with masts, buildings, and decks. The whole was painted in greenish gray, and the bow of the boat had a forged bronze relief of an angry-eyed vajra with a mighty face and a mortar and pestle in both hands. 　　This flying boat left and right side each extends a wing, loaded with propellers, both sides of the rotational speed slow and sharp, so as to adjust the direction of the pontoon boat forward. It does not have a pontoon air sac, also can not see other power devices, also do not know how to float without falling. 　　Pontoon boat lines smooth and elegant, does not look how gorgeous, but whether it is the splicing of the mast sail, or the carving of the side rails, every detail of the workmanship is incomparable simplicity and exquisite, that is a kind of luxury that does not flaunt. 　　Inside the pontoon boat at this moment, a man with a head full of silver hair was standing by the window, looking down at the airship graveyard below. 　　His face was not old, he should be in his prime, his gaze was deep and clear, his chin raised in a firm and elegant arc. A stand-up black uniform, the standard style of Imperial uniforms, but without rank markings. Only the two rows of silver buttons and the longsword and blaze pattern above the buttons emphasized his unusual status. 　　The silver-haired man stood there with a natural sharpness, like a sheathed sword. 　　In the room, there was also a man in his late fifties, born with a square head and big ears, with a kind face, while his figure was already very slightly blossomed. He was currently staring at the chessboard in front of him, a white stone made of the finest warm jade in his hand could not be dropped no matter what. 　　The game on the board was nearing its conclusion, with a large white dragon struggling to survive. 　　After thinking for a long time, he finally let out a long sigh and threw the white disc onto the board, admitting defeat. 　　"Brother Xitang, haven't seen you in seven years, your chess skills are still as good as before!" The fat, large middle-aged man stood up and walked over to the porthole, standing side-by-side with the silver-haired man and looking downwards. 　　Through the porthole, it could be seen that the huge airship graveyard, which covered an area of nearly a hundred square kilometers, was flickering with faint light everywhere, as if it were dotted with starbursts. 　　Seeing this scene, the fat middle-aged man was unimpressed and said, "Brother Xitang, you really need to change this problem of yours. The Great Diffusion Tianji Technique is indeed unique in stimulating and channeling the potential of the Force, but there is no need to put it on the entire airship graveyard, right? Could it be that you already have more Force than you can use? Then why don't you give me an imbuement so that I can enjoy your benefits as well!" 　　Lin Xitang smiled and said, "Brother Tuohai is still so straightforward. Look, these people down here are all potential cultivators of the Force." 　　Gu Tuohai was unimpressed, "So what? There are plenty of people with potential. You made a special trip to this hellish place to find me, and then instead of going straight back to the imperial capital, you came around here in a big circle, it can't be that you're just asking me to come and see the attainments of your Great Diffusion Heavenly Mechanic Skill, can it?" 　　Lin Xitang laughed a few times, pointed towards the window and said, "I'm not that boring. You see, if you only count the percentage of people who possess cultivation potential, the people in this airship graveyard are already no lower than the civilian class of the Empire. As you know, when the empire moved to the upper continent, those who traveled together were all families with cultivation potential. Now, more than eight hundred years later, the percentage of people with cultivation potential among the commoners of the empire is still not as high as those in this cemetery. It seems that the people in the empire have been living a good life for too long." 　　"That's not true!" Gu Tuo Hai shook his head and said, "Whether or not you have the potential is one thing, and what level you can cultivate to is another. Back then, the families that followed the empire to the upper continent all had special talent in one aspect or another, and once they stimulated their cultivation qualifications, they were able to advance to the third and fourth levels at worst. Whereas these people down below are innately deficient and have twisted hearts, the vast majority of them will reach their end when they cultivate up to the first level." 　　Lin Xitang said calmly, "But it's an indisputable fact that it's easier to stimulate potential in desperate situations, and more people with potential will appear." 　　Gu Tuo Hai hummed heavily and said, "It's that whole thing of yours about natural selection again! After all these years, you've never seen through it!" 　　"Since I'm right, why should I see through it? Look at the dot of starlight below, it's the light of my empire's inheritance, and the hope for the future of the human race. I think that my Lin Clan ancestors also started from such a place back then, and over the past hundred years, they killed countless dark races, built up their achievements, and went from the lowest level of the Forsaken Lands until they were ordained and honored. In my generation, I, Lin Xitang, have been trusted by His Majesty and entrusted the heavy responsibility into my hands, so I will do my utmost for the empire until I die! As long as it is beneficial to the Empire, I will do it! A little bit of small naysaying, I don't really care." 　　Gu Tuo Hai paused and said in exasperation, "Is that a little nuisance? I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to a stubborn guy like you! Alas, I, Gu Tuohai, was also confused for a moment before I promised you to serve the empire for another ten years. Anyway, I'm going to do my part this time, don't expect to take on any big jobs. Besides, good wine and beautiful women are not missing!" 　　Gu Tuo Hai saw that Lin Xitang just smiled and didn't say anything, he couldn't help but feel slightly angry, pointing out the porthole, his voice slightly raised, "What you see are the stars, but what I see are the people who are suffering! Back then, if the Empire hadn't given up on the Neverwinter Nights Continent, how would this place have turned into an abandoned land? Look at it, in such an unlucky place, what kind of truly qualified people would appear? If there were, it would be a real fucking hell!" 　　But just in the direction of his finger, a thin red pillar of light suddenly appeared! 　　Although the pillar of light was faint, it was incomparably eye-catching in the midst of the many star-like rays of light, and not even the light of the blood moon that covered the heavens and earth could cover it up. 　　Gu Tuohai was dumbfounded and muttered, "Is this ...... this still really a ghost?"